Veterans healthcare bill advances in U.S. Senate

WASHINGTON Feb 25 (Reuters) - An expansion of healthcare
and education programs for veterans of the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan cleared its first procedural hurdle on Tuesday, as
Democrats in the U.S. Senate attempted to win passage of the
legislation this week.

By a vote of 99-0, the Senate laid the groundwork for
debating a bill that would create 27 new medical facilities in
18 states and Puerto Rico to help meet the growing needs of
veterans of the long combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This is the most comprehensive piece of veterans'
legislation to be offered in decades and addresses many of the
challenges facing service members, veterans and their families,"
said Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont, the chief sponsor of
the bill.

Despite the unanimous vote on this procedural move to open
Senate debate, the fate of the legislation was uncertain. Some
Republicans criticized provisions of the bill, including
expanded health coverage for veterans who do not suffer from any
war-related injuries.

Republicans also were trying to attach a controversial
provision unrelated to veterans programs: possible new sanctions
on Iran, which the Obama administration opposes as a potential
threat to diplomatic efforts that are aimed at stopping that
country's suspected nuclear weapons program.

Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma said the
Department of Veterans Affairs is unable to effectively run
existing programs. "We're putting a bill to expand the
responsibilities instead of holding them accountable to the
responsibilities they have today," Coburn complained.

The Sanders bill, with a $24 billion price tag, comes after
Congress recently repealed a pension benefit cut for veterans
that Congress and President Barack Obama had signed off on as
part of a broader bipartisan budget deal crafted in January.

The Senate debate also was unfolding as Obama prepares to
unveil his 2015 budget blueprint, which will call for military
spending cuts in the post-Iraq and Afghanistan war era and
refocusing spending more on domestic programs.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, said that
with war spending diminishing, "It is only fair that we use a
small portion of those savings to invest in our returning
veterans."

Republicans, however, have long objected to Democrats'
attempts to take war fund accounts and apply them to new
domestic spending. Instead, Republicans have argued that savings
from the draw-down of combat operations should help reduce
budget deficits.

Besides healthcare improvements, the legislation would
expand access to educational benefits for veterans and their
survivors.

Veterans returning from the two wars, many of whom suffer
from combat-related psychological problems or severe wounds from
roadside explosive devices, have often had to deal with long
waits before receiving care at federally run medical facilities.

Sanders' bill attempts to reduce those backlogs.

There are an estimated 2.6 million veterans of the Iraq and
Afghanistan wars, according to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans
of America.
(Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)